Aggiebuttercup

We cruised with friends and their 1-year-old (plus 5 other kids age 7-11) last summer on Royal Caribbean. Before the cruise we had requested from dining services that we have a table in a corner. That way, when the little one got fussy near the end of dinner, we could let him out of the high chair to crawl around without disturbing other diners.

The first night my friend asked for a plate of fruit for the baby, and after that the dining staff had it waiting when we arrived at the table. That way he could start eating while we ordered.

We spent much of our port time at a beach or walking around town. The little one was strapped in a carrier or in a stroller. He napped well - in the carrier, cuddled on dad's chest on a shady lounge chair near the pool, cuddled on mom at the beach, cuddled on me at the end of dinner, etc.

My friends did bring a car seat with them for the taxi ride to one of our excursions...but they had to wait for a taxi with seatbelts.

It sounds like you are going on Disney? I did that with a toddler, and I was happy to find out that they streamed the shows live on tv. When my kid was sleeping, I could pull the curtain shut and watch the show. Not quite as exciting as being in the theater, but I got to see it!

I think cruising with littles is probably the easiest way to have a relaxing family vacation.

If he wants to try rock climbing, he'll need closed-toe shoes. I think that was the only time my 7-year-old wore his.

We always do YTD and ask to sit at a large table. We meet lots of interesting people that way!

LOVE the adult comedy shows.

We choose Carnival when the kids aren't along, so we spend a lot of time people-watching and relaxing. Lots of afternoon naps ;)

I sailed on Liberty last summer with kids aged 7-11. At 9 and 11, yours will be able to be in the kids' club together. The 10 and 8 year-olds loved the kids' club; the 9- and 11- year-olds were bored (both bookworms, so we finally sent them in there with a book and they sat in the corner and read when they didn't want to play).

We spent a LOT of time at the water slides and the splash park. A LOT. They loved it much more than I thought they would. The swimming pools are deep (much deeper than I originally realized). If your kids aren't good swimmers and/or aren't really tall, you'll want to be in the pool with them.

Don't waste your money on the Dreamworks breakfast experience; in our crowd, everyone 8 and under loved it and everyone 9 and older thought it was stupid. We did wait in line to take pictures with the characters before dinner, and I do highly recommend you go to the promenade to watch the parade.

If possible, put the kids in the kids' club and have all of the adults go to the Quest show. It was hilarious.

Everyone enjoyed the ice show, and almost everyone enjoyed skating. It is really crowded, though.

We liked it so much we're going again in 2019 (with a Carnival cruise for only the adults in between).

When travelling with the kids, we do Liberty of the Seas. On our own, we take Carnival.

We were on the Magic last, and LOVED it. I am addicted to the cove balconies - there were dolphins playing right below us in port, and we saw flying fish jumping at almost eye level. Carnival also has good comedians, including the adults-only shows - we don't ever miss these. Liberty of the Seas has the Quest adult show - if you sail on this ship, DO NOT MISS this experience.

Both ships have good outdoor activities, although Liberty's new waterslides are better, IMO. I like the layout of the Liberty of the Seas a little better - we don't like cigarette smoke, and on the Magic/Breeze the casino is right in the middle of the ship, so I felt like I was always going up/down stairs and across to avoid the smoke.

The "class" of people was the same on both ships - most of them lovely, a few not. We aren't drinkers, either, and we had plenty of fun on both ships without alcohol, and had no problem avoiding the drunks. I think you'll enjoy either ship.

Can't answer your particular question, but I would be leery of any zumba classes if you've ever done them before. I attended one on a ship a few years ago. Too many participants packed too closely together, most of whom had never done it before. The instructor had geared the class towards those who were brand-new (as she probably should have). I got more exercise going up and down the stairs to get to/from the class than actually participating in the class.

There is a specific door on the promenade where the characters come out on their way to scheduled photo ops. There is a photography station there for formal nights. We were photo bombed by Gloria from Madagascar one night - the best picture of the cruise!

We went with kids aged 6 - 11. Everyone 8 and over thought the character breakfast was "stupid"; the younger kids liked it.

Bonjour et bienvenue a CruiseCritic. Votre anglais est anglais est très bon; certainement mieux que mon français!

June is a good time to sail, and your ship will be fine. If the weather is bad, the captain will change course to avoid it.

If there are rougher seas than normal one day and you feel queasy, sit in a lounge in the middle of the ship, closer to the water until you feel better. I have been on a few cruises where I could feel some movement in the ship; sometimes it feels as if the waves are rocking me to sleep.

You will be fine. Have fun!

I usually carry a small cross-body purse with tissues and sunscreen. I've been burned too many times when I decided "oh, it's so pretty, I'll just stand here on the deck for a few minutes". [caveat, I can get a sunburn thinking about the sun]

I did a singles' cruise to Alaska a few years ago, when I was 32. You will have so much fun!!! [My cruise was on Princess, which I didn't really like - everything shut down by 11 pm, but I became good friends with another single woman my age, so we hung out together while everyone else was sleeping.]

I was in an oceanview cabin. I spent more time out on deck or in one of the lounges than trying to look out the window in my room. Next time I'd probably do an inside cabin. I highly recommend that you do a cruise that goes to Tracy Arm Fjord. It was breathtaking.

My trip was the first week in August. We saw whales from the ship, and I saw a giant porcupine in Juneau. Most of my excursions weren't wildlife-related, although I did spend a significant chunk of time watching the salmon spawning run at one of the ports [salmon spawning season is mid-July - September].

The only reason I *need* a chair by the pool is if my kids are swimming. I don't want them in the pool without me (or another adult in our group) watching them.

It is frustrating to not be able to find any place to sit that is close enough to watch over them, if I don't want to be in the pool too. A small section for parents actively watching their kids would be nice. No reserving allowed.

I always travel with a notarized letter from my children's father if I am taking them out of the country. The only time I've ever been asked for it was when flying from the US to Canada (ironically, to meet him there).

I've never been asked for it while cruising, even though I now have a different last name than the children, but I feel better having it with me. I also carry a copy of my divorce decree (to prove there are no restrictions on travelling with the children + to document my name change), my current marriage license (to document another name change), and their birth certificates to prove they belong to me. Plus all of our passports, of course!

My big fear is that someone will get hurt / lost / put ashore in a foreign country, and I want to ensure I have everything I need to get back home.

You're picking it up at Hobby and then driving immediately to IAH? Give yourselves an hour from one to the other. Probably won't take that long, but you never know with traffic.

There's Old Town Spring, a little north of IAH, that has cute shops and a few good homestyle restaurants.

There's the Museum District - The Houston Museum of Natural Sciences is really good, and there's also a Holocaust museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, and several other smaller ones. The zoo is also in this area and a new botanical gardens. You could easily kill a few hours there.

Can't argue with anything said here. Carnival and Royal are making money in Galveston and Galveston is being helped by with with increased tourism dollars. So its a win win. Where is NCL? not sure why they haven't tried to get in on it. They could probably get Houston to give them a great deal on using the Houston Cruise Terminal (where NCL used to dock).

NCL will start sailing from Houston this fall for the winter season. They'll be here at approximately the same times as Princess for the next two years, I think.

I understand the frustration with people getting multiple bowls' worth of food, but I have 3 kids under the age of 8, and (if the children would actually eat at the wok) it would be less disruptful overall for the kids to sit at the table with one parent while the other one gets food for the family.

Usually I'm the only one who wants the wok, so I get one bowl.

Carnival released their Galveston and San Juan sailings today....maybe Royal Caribbean will be inspired to catch up.

Houston usually has a free concert (generally featuring a country music singer, mid-range famous) for the 4th of July and has fireworks after.

Hi BSR and Rudyard..I am on the same Cruise..just read a very bad post about the Fog...big delays on Embarkation and also coming back. I lived on the Ocean in California for years and have never had such fogs. In October will we be experiencing this problelm?

October is not usually a bad month for fog.

Adding Freedom to the gulf coast market is going to be yet another large change in capacity. Counting week-long cruises in the traditional Caribbean season, you would have 3 ships out of Galveston, 2 ships out of Houston, and 3 ships out of New Orleans. That's way more capacity than what sailed out of the gulf coast just a year ago.

 

The ports in the Western Caribbean will be over capacity. We're starting to see itinerary flops for ships later this year to try to balance capacity. I know Carnival is trying to build a new terminal in Calica, but no one has heard anything about that lately.

Royal Caribbean is pulling out of New Orleans in summer 2015, so IF there was to be a third ship in Galveston it wouldn't increase capacity much if at all.

I think you will enjoy the Magic. I definitely enjoyed Carnival better than Princess, and it compared pretty evenly to my memories of Royal Caribbean over a decade ago.

I do like the Navigator of the Seas layout better than the Magic's, but the Magic was a good vacation for us.

The rest of the Caribbean schedules should be released the week of March 17. They are trickling out the schedules; Alaska, part of Europe, and some of the Florida summer Caribbean schedules are out right now.

I did an Alaska cruise with a singles group. Was an awesome vacation - but you don't get to choose your cruise line that way.

Rumor has it Navigator is going to San Juan

To help enforce it, Require bookings to be with same credit card. This would lessen further the number of people who would be willing to square up with strangers after putting themselves out there.

Not a great idea.

I'm planning a family reunion cruise. It's very likely that we'll have a lot of sets of adjoining rooms - parents connected to minor children, adults connected to their sibling, adults potentially connected to their parents. In some of those situations, there will be two different credit cards used.

One could say no one NEEDS connecting cabins except in the case of minor children connecting to their parents. It certainly makes it easier, and I'd rather share a connection with someone I know, and who I know isn't going to complain about the noises through the connecting door....plus I get to spend more time with family I haven't seen in years.